St Anselm’s Church, built in 1927, stands on the High Street at the centre of Hayes Town. It is an outstandingly beautiful and spacious building and the fabric has been kept in good order. It has a definite catholic tradition and the church building is designed and furnished to accommodate imaginative liturgy. Resolution B is in place.

The town centre has undergone a huge programme of regeneration and reinvestment in recent years which, as the clergy of the Hillingdon chapter remarked recently, has not been matched by the Church. The appointment of a stipendiary priest to lead and develop St Anselm’s was identified in 2011 as the mission priority in the Willesden Area. A stipend is now becoming available during the course of 2012.

The congregation is fragile and has struggled since the departure of a previous incumbent and a large number of leading lay people to Rome in 1994, and having been without a stipendiary incumbent since 1998. The Electoral Roll currently stands at 56.

There is a culture of dependency and passivity in the congregation but for the past 18 months, the input a community development worker and a priest consultant has begun to reverse that situation. There are signs that the congregation is starting to move from dependency to collaboration as they look forward to the appointment of a stipendiary incumbent with whom they can work in partnership. This will be a challenging ministry for the new priest who will need to be prepared to play a long game.

Despite problems, difficulties, frustrations and setbacks the congregation has carried on courageously and has been bold in its approach to Common Fund and playing its part in the deanery.

There is a huge mission opportunity here, and vast potential for developing St Anselm’s as a community hub in central Hayes. There have been dreams of developing the liturgical West end of the building as a community space with glass doors onto the street, leading to the experience of sacred space closer to the altar. The MP, John McDonnell who is a keen supporter of developing St Anselm’s has described it recently as “the best location in central Hayes.”

St Anselm’s has suffered in recent years from being led by a succession of non-stipendiary priests unavailable, because of their secular employment during the working day when Hayes town centre is full of people. There is evidence that lots of people in the wider community would like to be able to go into the church but can’t because for much of the time, apart from the weekly food bank, a weekday mass and morning prayer on Saturday, it stands closed.

The Priest

The Hillingdon Deanery Mission and Ministry Group who care passionately about the future of St Anselm’s have identified the following qualities as needed in a new incumbent. We would hope that such a person would fit the criteria we’ve listed and thus he:

• Should be a first class catholic mission priest in the mould of those who’ve developed St Michael’s Camden Town, a close parallel.• Should begin by winning the confidence, support and collaboration of the key lay leaders to work together for the development of the laity as a whole.• Should be able to develop a strategy for the whole congregation and major stakeholders in the wider community of central • Hayes to build a common vision for the future life and mission of St Anselm’s.• Must be committed to developing collaborative lay ministry.• Enable the building of links and appropriate partnerships between the church and wider community.• Have proven experience of and a heart for urban/town centre ministry.• Be an entrepreneur with vision, imagination and creativity to develop the building.• Be resilient yet sensitive and able to handle conflict creatively.• Be able to nurture the whole worshipping community across age barriers.• Be a high profile presence in central Hayes.

The renewing fires of Pentecost are upon us! As we approach the birthday of the Church let us pray for its renewal and for a deepening of ourselves to service of God and neighbour. Wherever we are in life we must never forget God- In dark and in light He is sovereign! In our journey of exploration we might at times become disheartened or complacent. Putting oneself up for selection is a risky business- there is always the possibility that the answer might be “no” or “not now”. Whatever we are called to do we must seek God in ourselves from the call of our baptism. In baptism we are called to become Sons of God and that is suffice a work for each and every one of us. Let’s strive to achieve, through grace for the throne of Glory. Strive to be saints this Pentecost!

We want to be able to pray for you and support you in the most appropriate way for your situation. If you have a BAP date in the diary then please let us know and we will pray for you mightily! OR if you are through BAP let us know how it went! The facebook page is doing exceedingly well with over 50 “likes”- you can find it here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/God-Calling/118442418282140.

This month’s reflection comes from a candidate from the diocese of Coventry who has just got through BAP and who is starting his formation at St Stephen’s House in September.

Tom Wintle (Coventry) has recently been selected for training! Please continue to pray for Daniel Howard (Liverpool), Sean Gilbert (Chichester) and Philip Godsell (Monmouth) as they prepare to start their formation at theological college in September.

NOVENA 2012- PRAYING FOR THE CHURCH- 17th- 27th May

Please join in with this Novena for the Church of England from Ascension Thursday to Pentecost Sunday. Please encourage your friends and parishes to offer some time in prayer too!

The Catholic Societies of the Church of England are holding their conference at St Stephen’s House between Friday 31st August and Sunday 2nd September. It is open to all men exploring a vocation to the priesthood or the religious life. Do you know anyone who might be interested? http://www.additionalcurates.co.uk/vocations.html

ROYAL NAVY PLACEMENT

There is a year placement working with the Royal Navy Chaplains in HMS Drake, Plymouth. Would suit a person exploring vocation who wants to do something different. Good accommodation in a FifF parish, good pay and loads of fun-: e-mail martyn.gough656@mod.uk

Reflection

At lunchtime one Friday in April, I found myself in St Michael, Camden Town, where I have been working as a pastoral assistant for the past eight months. I felt my ‘phone buzzing in my pocket and I knew that it was the call that I’d been anticipating - the call that would reveal what the future held! I was, of course, desperate to answer, but I was talking to someone who’d wandered in from the street. One of the very many things I’ve had to learn since moving to Camden is that, when you work for the Church, your own life, very often, simply has to wait! Eventually I found myself free and snuck into the quiet garden round at the back of the building to return the DDO’s call and discover that I had been recommended to train for the Priesthood.

It had been just over a week since I left Shallowford House, in Staffordshire, after two days on my Bishop’s Advisory Panel. That week of waiting, hoping, fearing the worst, and looking for jobs, had been, as you might expect, rather tough. I had mulled over the notion of getting away from it all immediately after, but, actually, it was the best thing that I could have done to get back to the parish and return to normal. The clergy and I, of course, engaged in a little ‘post-match’ analysis, but the life of the parish waits for no man – not even for one who’s just done his BAP – and I am glad of it!

Actually, that week was, in many ways, rather more gruelling than the BAP, itself. Since entering the vocations process, I had come across one or two people who claimed to have enjoyed the experience. I’m not sure that I would go quite that far, but it was by no means as awful as I’d expected! I was extremely fortunate to attend the same panel as my housemate. I expect that’s probably a unique situation and it most definitely made being trapped in the Staffordshire countryside and being grilled about the minutiae of one’s life and faith a lot more bearable!

But, really, the fact that the BAP was not as awful as I’d imagined it might be comes down to two things: the first is the wonderful support of the phenomenally kind and generous people I have met over the past two years; people whose friendship, enthusiasm, and prayers have sustained me and kept me going. The second is the remarkable preparation that I have had in Camden Town. This pastoral assistant scheme, which is supported by the Additional Curates Society, has given me the opportunity to experience some amazing things, to work with some remarkable people, and to really get a grip on what ministry is really like, especially in a busy, diverse, urban setting. More importantly, it has given me the opportunity to really share in and be a part of that ministry!

Those opportunities and the enthusiastic support of those wonderful people fill me with tremendous confidence for the future. God continues to call men to serve Him in Holy Orders in the Church of England; but those men, and the Church, would be much the poorer but for the amazing work of initiatives like God Calling, pastoral assistant schemes, and organisations like the Additional Curates Society.

Please pray for all of those who encourage and foster vocations, for those with responsibility within the discernment process, and for all men seeking to discover whether or not God is calling them to the Priesthood.

Thomas Wintle is 30 and is currently on placement with Fr Philip North in Camden Town.

The Right Reverend Dr Martin Warner - Bishop of Chichester

3rd May 2012

The Additional Curates Society are delighted that one of our council members, The Right Reverend Dr Martin Warner is to become the 103rd Bishop of Chichester. Downing Street have announced that The Right Reverend Dr Martin Warner, currently Suffragan Bishop of Whitby in the Diocese of York, is to be the next Bishop of Chichester.

Dr Warner, 53, succeeds The Right Reverend John Hind who retired last month.

Dr Warner studied at St Chad’s College in Durham before completing his theological training at St Stephen’s House, Oxford. He was ordained deacon (1984) and priest (1985) in Exeter Cathedral whilst working as Curate of St Peter’s Plymouth.

He moved north to the Midlands in 1988 to be Team Vicar for five years in the Parish of the Resurrection, Leicester before being elected to be the Priest Administrator of the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham between 1993-2002. During his time in Norfolk he was also priest in charge of Hempton and Pudding Norton between 1998-2000. He was appointed Honorary Canon of Norwich between 2000-2002.

Dr Warner was then appointed as a residentiary Canon of St Paul’s Cathedral in London, firstly as Canon Pastor and latterly Treasurer where he made a big contribution particularly with regards to the Cathedral’s connection with the art world (2003-2010).

He was selected as suffragan Bishop of Whitby in the Diocese of York in 2010 and has served the parishes of the Cleveland archdeaconry which includes the contrasting communities of Middlesbrough and much of the North Yorkshire Moors.

Dr Warner is a regular contributor to the Church Times and has written five books.

He is a cyclist, enjoys the arts and is well known for his hospitality and welcome – an art he perfected when welcoming thousands of pilgrims to England’s Nazareth, as Walsingham is known.

Dr Warner is a traditionalist who has worked resolutely in recent years to encourage provision in which people of all integrities can remain together. He worked closely with women priest colleagues at St Paul’s Cathedral and has sought to serve with equal care the ordained men and women in his episcopal patch in the north of England.

Bishop Warner said today: “It is a daunting and exciting challenge to be asked to serve the people of Sussex as the next Bishop of Chichester. I look forward very much to learning more about the mission in which we shall be engaging together, though it will be a big wrench leaving the North East so soon”.

Father Darren Smith, General Secretary of ACS says "This is excellent news for both the Diocese of Chichester and the Church of England. Bishop Warner has made an enormous contribution and has worked alongside both integrities during his time in Whitby. I am confident that his ministry will continue to excite and challenge in the years ahead."

The Very Revd Jeremy Winston

A tribute by Fr Malcolm Lane

25th January 2012

This tribute was given at his Thanksgiving Service on Saturday 21st January at St Mary's Priory church, Abergavenney

It seems only like yesterday ,when I first met the young Jeremy Winston. I was a young Banker and little did I know then that that after becoming his Bank Manager I would become probably his closest colleague and friend serving along side him as the Asst Curate in this very Parish Church and even allowed to Chair Parochial Church Councils’s during his periods of very indifferent health. But it was in Griffithstown, his home village, in about 1977 that we first met I was Treasurer to the Parochial Church Council of St Hilda’s and his mother, the late Irene Vera Winston - a member of that PCC - introduced me to her son Jeremy who was home from Oxford and playing the organ at the Sunday morning Mass.

This young theological student was to have a profound influence not only on my life but many other lives in the course of his ministry. His charismatic personality, his depth of spirituality, and his Benedictine Spirit in the true Catholic tradition aligned with his immense abilities and capabilities were to play an important part in the lives of thousands and in particular way for so many. The discernment of a true vocation to the sacred priesthood for so many. He had an uncanny knack of recognising what he would say “ Priestly qualities” He possessed an ability to persuade, to cajole and breathe confidence into a person so that he or she could almost reach out and touch the moon, if that was their wish.

How many people in this world has he influenced in the searching out and in the discernment of a call to that sacred priesthood and other ministries in the Church of God? How many journeys has he made walking alongside and in the shoes of those who found the road to ordination to be a thorny one in the least? Many I would say – indeed, some have gone on to become prelates.

I remember well his appointment as the Vicar or should I say Prior of Abergavenny. I was a member of the Patronage Board at the time .It was chaired by Bishop Rowan, when we interviewed the candidates for Yes! The Parish of St.Mary’s Abergavenny – Fr Jeremy among them. The Parish representatives were insistent that the parish of Abergavenny wanted and deserved a married man and one with a family taboo. Prolonged discussions went on and we did not appoint on that particular day I well remember the quizzical look on Bishop’s Rowans face when he said later “What do they want”?He will do the work of several clerics and he will love them all! Well, thankfully Bishop Rowan did appoint Fr Jeremy, who went on to become probably the most prominent cleric this parish has ever had the privilege of caring for them.

He was very much a “Priest of the People” and loved by the people and made this Parish Church not only a most welcoming one but a place that was to host many great parish, civic and ecumenical events.Hosting the Prince of Wales on at least two occasions and other Royals as well. If anyone could do it – It was Jeremy!!

His work is legendary – you only have to look outside at the Priory Centre and the Tythe Barn and not forgetting his governorship links with local schools serving as Chairman of Governors in several of the Schools.

Then there were the Parish Pilgrimages which we jointly led to the Holy Land, to Rome and Assisi, to Lindisfarne, to Walsingham and in the steps of St Paul. The sheer energy of the priest – we could hardly keep up with the Jeremy Winston route march!

And who can forget his culinary skills – how many priests do you know who can cook coronation chicken for 200 people, or bake a gross of Vicar’s biscuits for the Food Festival?

I can tell you that he was a most self-effacing man. Back in 2002 when I was ordained Deacon in this very Parish Church, there was a very poignant moment just before the service in the Vestry when I was signing the various legal documents, Bishop Rowan appointed Jeremy as a Canon of St Woolos Cathedral to sit in the stall of St Dingat- Jeremy said, “Thank you Bishop but we won’t mention it again this evening because I don’t want anything to detract from Malcolm’s ordination.”

Always others before self!! In the whole time I have known him, and that is almost 35 years, he never wavered from what he believed in. He was a respected traditionalist through and through and his non wavering integrity gained him international respect. He would always say, “Be true to yourself and always be natural and do not pretend to be what you are not!”

He was a magnificent Priest He was one of the oldest members of the The Society of the Holy Cross which was founded at the House of Charity, Soho, London and Its principal objectives are: to strengthen and consolidate the spiritual life of its members according to Catholic belief and practice; to maintain and extend the Catholic Faith and discipline, and to defend Truth against error; and to unite its members in a special bond of mutual charity arising from their common faith.He ,as a member of the Society live under a Rule and attend chapters .and his membership of the Additional Curates Society spanned two decades where he served as a very prominent , hardworking Chairman for five years.

In his last days ,I was privileged to look after him at my home at the Rectory in Michaelston-y-fedw Cardiff with the support of my son Matthew and great and devoted friends Tony, Caroline, Philip, Verena and Glynis .

They were indeed special days with much sharing as my great friend prepared himself for what he knew lay ahead of him. His funeral instructions to me were explicit as far the Hymns, Music and Bearers were concerned and with instructions that I was to bury him with his Mother, but there was one proviso in the instructions and that there were to be no ugly people taking part.